Quokka

Setonix brachyurus

Blamed on cats

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

EPBC Threat Rating: N/A

IUCN Claim: “ Predation by red foxes and possibly feral cats has led to a past decline of mainland populations.’”

Studies in support

Cats hunt quokkas (Hayward et al. 2005; Bain 2015).

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

There are no studies linking cats to quokka populations.

Evidence linking Setonix brachyurus to cats. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Setonix brachyurus and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Setonix brachyurus, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance.
Evidence linking Setonix brachyurus to cats. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Setonix brachyurus and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Setonix brachyurus, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance.

References

Bain, Karlene Tracy. “The ecology of the quokka (Setonix brachyurus) in the southern forests of Western Australia.” (2015).

Hayward, Matt W., et al. “Mortality and survivorship of the quokka (Setonix brachyurus)(Macropodidae: Marsupialia) in the northern jarrah forest of Western Australia.” Wildlife Research 32.8 (2005): 715-722

Wallach et al. 2023 In Submission